Jon Gosselin to Sue "Absentee Mom" Kate for Primary Custody of 8 Kids

An attorney for Jon, 33, plans to file an emergency petition this week in Berks County, Penn., for primary physical custody of his eight children with ex-wife Kate, TMZ reported Tuesday.

The reality dad's new lawyer Anthony F. List tells TMZ that Kate, 35, is "an absentee mom." List says her current stint on Dancing with the Stars prohibits her from spending "quality time" with twins Cara and Mady, 9, and sextuplets Aaden, Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Joel and Leah, 5. (Kate and DWTS partner Tony Dovolani have been rehearsing in the basement of the $1.1 million Wernersville, Penn. home she shares with her kids.)

Also on the docket: the child support situation. Currently, Jon pays Kate $22,000 a month in child support. The attorney charges that the fee is "ridiculous," and he may ask a judge to reverse the arrangement and demand that Kate pay Jon, though he declined to specify how much.

A source close to Jon tells UsMagazine.com that he "seems genuinely upset that the kids are growing up with strangers most of the time. Even when Kate's at the house, she has a nanny there to do all the work."

The source also adds that "Jon is anxious to find a place of his own close to the kids so he can have a little more stability for them," and has been house-hunting near the Wernersville house. He presently lives in a two-bedroom apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side that rents for $5000 a month.

In February, cable network TLC reached a settlement with Gosselin in a breach-of-contract lawsuit. He remains under contract with the network, but is forbidden from making or profiting from unauthorized public appearances.

With this latest legal action, Jon "hopes this will move TLC to pay him or at least give him permission to go out and work...and be able to afford his new home." the source explains.

Update: Kate Gosselin's attorney Mark Momijan told RadarOnline, "we haven't received any formal filing yet but I can’t imagine anything farther from the truth. Kate is a devoted mother. Her concern for the welfare of her kids is so prominent that any allegations like this report are reckless and so far from the mark, it's offensive."